Vacation planning is fun, but it can be stressful. When you’re planning a staycation it doesn’t really matter where you stay. If you pick somewhere terrible you can always bail and head home. But if you’re an entire continent and half an ocean away from home, you want to make sure that where you’re staying is worth the journey.
That’s exactly why I paid the extra points to stay in a club room at the Grand Hyatt Kauai. For the last nights of the trip, we’re headed back to Oahu for our flight from HNL-MCO on Hawaiian Airlines. I’d prefer to use our Disney Vacation Club points to stay at Aulani in Ko Olina, but we’re currently waitlisted and have no expectations that we’ll get a room there, since it’s sold out.
I need a Plan B. Somewhere I’d be pleased to stay but could cancel until a week out if our timeshare becomes available.
I’d prefer to use points instead of paying cash for the room. I have more than enough Marriott points and with Sharon’s Platinum status I can try to apply an SNU to the stay to get a better room.
Marriott Bonvoy has three properties near Waikiki that we’re interested in but I want to know some real-life reviews from people who’ve stayed there. Despite the TripAdvisor reviews and posts from other travel blogs, I trust comments from our readers more than any of those.
Sharon and I love older hotels. Places that have a certain amount of charm from another era hit a sweet spot for us. Our favorite hotel in the world is the Goldener Hirsch in Austria. After undergoing a multi-year makeover, the hotel still has all the charm from our first visit.
We also love the retro decor, particularly from the tacky Tiki era. Sharon collects Tiki mugs and we visit tiki bars during our travels.
That makes it difficult to pick from the Marriott Bonvoy properties near Waikiki. Two hotels are the oldest ones in town and one is a newer property that embraces the boutique tiki era. Our choices are:
- The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort, Waikiki
- Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa, Waikiki Beach
- The Laylow, Autograph Collection
The Laylow is available for 50K points a night, so I’d be able to use a free night from the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card during our stay while the other two hotels would cost 60K points a night.
The Royal Hawaiian and Moana Surfrider are located in the same area on Waikiki beach while the Laylow is not located on the beach but a few blocks away. Both beach hotels are some of the oldest hotels on Oahu and inhabit prime real estate.
While we have Platinum status and will try to use an SNU for the stay, which hotel is the best?
Or am I doing this wrong and should I be looking to use our Hilton points to stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village?
If I’m going to stay at a classic Hawaii hotel, I want it to be worth my while. A hotel that has been renovated to the point of removing all of the interesting things isn’t worth the time for us.
What do you think?
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